This Bond Between Us
by emina
Summary: Rinoa and Quistis are stepsisters through their parents' marriages. However, when one decides to go her own way, what does the other do? And how will they both cope with the surprises that are in store for them? Chapter 3 up!
1. Quarrels

**Author's Note: _Hi ya! Wuzzup?! I know I'm currently working on the 'Disturbed'_**** poems right now, but I just wanted to start another fanfic to keep myself occupied. Okay…so… now I'm pretty much occupied. ^^'' I hope you guys like this story and if you do (or even if you don't), **please **tell me your comments (likes, dislikes, improvements, yaddy yaddy yada…) by reviewing! Thank you!**

**Disclaimer: _I don't own Final Fantasy VIII, my dad does. Just kidding. **Final Fantasy VIII belongs to Squaresoft. **_**

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**:: Quarrels ::**

_"The moment we want to believe something, we suddenly see all the arguments for it, and become blind to the arguments against it."_

**_                                                                   -_**_George Bernard Shaw___

Quistis glared at the sun from her bedroom window as it slowly climbed over the roof of Deling's dark buildings, now swathed by yellow rays. Grabbing her glasses and wincing as the sun reflected a blinding light, she groggily called to the small figure still dozing across from her.

          "Rin…hey…"  The form stirred lightly, seemingly unaffected by the call. "Rin! You pig! Wake up!" A pillow found itself being thrown across the room. The bundle of bed covers immediately sat up.

          "What the heck did you do that for, Quis? Can't you see I'm trying to sleep?" The covers, now lifted, revealed a messy, raven-haired girl around the age of sixteen who rubbed her eyes tiredly.

          "Time to get up, silly." Quistis smirked at Rin while getting up from her bed and folding the covers neatly. "I'm gonna go ahead and take a shower first, then you, 'kay?"

          "Whatever." Rin yawned and fell back onto her pillow, one leg on the floor, eyes closed. "Just remember to save some hot water for me. And wake me up when you're done."

          "Yeah, sure…piggy." She muttered under her breath and walked towards the bathroom.

          "I heard that!" Rin called after her. Smiling, she dozed off again.

          The hot water scalded Quistis' back but she didn't care. It felt nice, the water, compared to the freezing weather outside. Just because the sun's shining doesn't mean it's warm. She grabbed the shampoo and applying a wad of the soap on her hand, started to wash her hair. 

_Rin__, you weirdo, _she thought, grinning,_ I guess you'll never change. _

Rin, whose real name was Rinoa, is Quistis' younger stepsister by a year. They weren't related by blood, but rather by their parents' marriage. Rinoa's father, General James Caraway, had had Rinoa from his first marriage with Julia Heartilly, the famous singer of the song Eyes on Me. Quistis knew that Julia had been a pianist in a Deling Hotel back during the Galbaldian War, and according to many people, had been a beautiful and open-minded young woman. Unfortunately, her career ended when she died in a car crash when Rinoa was only three years old.

About two years later, James Caraway remarried to Quistis' mother, Catherine Trepe, who was a widow, having lost her husband to the Galbaldian War. Quistis was six by then, and Rinoa five. The two girls developed a quick sisterly bond with each other, due to the small gap in their age difference. Nevertheless, as the two stepsisters grew, Rinoa had been proven to be truly an offspring of James Caraway and Julia Heartilly. Pale and silky skin was surrounded by a head full of ebony hair, and her large chocolate-almond eyes only made her look prettier. A small, delicate nose and pouty lips, as well as a tiny, slim figure and round, child-like face marked the works of a true Piscean. 

Quistis, on the other hand, was also very much attractive, although on a more mature sense. Her long, wavy golden hair was usually clipped back behind her head with two fair tresses hanging down by her oval face, and her smooth, light skin, often tarnished with rosy cheeks, looked like a blush that never went away. High, finely defined cheekbones and deep cerulean eyes decorated her features, and a sharp, straight, but fairly dainty nose as well as trim and full lips decorated her features. 

Quistis quickly washed the rest of her body, dried herself, and then threw on her clothes, which consisted of a white and red hooded sweater and blue bellbottom jeans. She stepped out from the bathroom.

"My Hyne, Rin!" She exclaimed, brushing her fingers through her wet hair. She walked over to Rinoa and bringing up her leg, gently nudged her back with her knee.

"Just five more minutes, Quis! It's Saturday today, for goodness sakes! Can't a person sleep in peace?!" Rinoa turned towards Quistis, and shielded her eyes from the sun.

"Don't you remember that we're supposed to go with Dad to Balamb Garden today?" Quistis sat down on her stepsister's bed. "He told us that he had some business there to deal with and said we might as well go over and take a look at the place…see if we like it or something." 

"Oh noooo…not again." Rinoa groaned and slapped her forehead with her hands. "How many times do we have to tell him that we have absolutely _no interest whatsoever in joining a frickin' military academy?! They teach __kids how to _kill _people, for Hyne's sake!" She got up from the bed and went to get clothes for a shower._

"Ahem." Quistis cleared her throat. "You've made a mistake somewhere, Rin. You should say 'How many times do _you _have to tell him that _you _have absolutely _no interest whatsoever in joining a' group of people who fights for our country and protects us everyday. Right?"_

"What? But they have kids _our age who are taught to kill others, Quis…"_

"They're called SeeDs, okay? The elite mercenary who battle forces of evil or whatnot and who are worshipped like anything."

Rinoa glared at Quistis with a determined look. "I really don't understand you sometimes, Quistis. You're weird, if not crazy." She started walking towards the bathroom.

"I don't think you're getting my point here, Rin. I have every intention of going into a military academy as Dad wants us to and I'm going to get in there and become a SeeD." Quistis called to her sister's back, glaring fiercely. 

Rinoa stopped and turned, staring at Quistis for a moment as the silence hung between them. "…for Dad?" She finally spoke, her face softening a bit.

Quistis opened her mouth, as if in a small yet inaudible gasp. "Yes, Rin." She smiled reassuringly and walked over to Rinoa, placing her hands on her sister's shoulders. "For Dad, for me, for Mom, for the sake of the world…and for you, too." Quistis pulled Rinoa into a tight hug. Having a petite figure, Rinoa only came up to around her shoulders.

"I'm sorry, Quis." She mumbled into Quistis' sweater.

Quistis smiled gently. "I'm sorry, too, Rinny." After a short moment, she pulled Rinoa away, still holding onto her shoulders. "Now…are you going to take that shower or not? We're leaving soon, you know."

**********

**AN2: _HAHA!!! I think I might have the start of a new sequel here! ^^ I wanna make this fanfic into two different parts, but we'll have to see if my brain decides to function properly or not, that is. And, yes, I know that Quistis got her instructor's license at the age of fifteen, and in this fanfic, she's already seventeen and w/out her license, but this is the way it's gonna be in order for the story to work. Some other extra changes and additions will be made to the original storyline of FFVIII too…also for certain reasons. Oh well! I'm so proud of me! And I'll be even prouder of all you readers out there who read and review this! ^^ Thank you!  _**


	2. Balamb Garden

**Author's Note: **_Ah…chapter two. I'm gonna try to make the chapters as short as possible because I learned that from my previous stories, long chapters aren't very easy to write…although they're definitely good to read. ^^ I hold a lotta respect for those who writes really long fanfics…not that I don't like short fanfics either. I hope someday I'll be able to sit down and write for that long without getting bored or running out of ideas. Lots of thanx to:_

**_Nikita-_**_Thank you for the review! I have another pretty original story that I want to post up, but I think I'd be too preoccupied with this one already…^^_

**_Verdanii-_**_I'll try to update as soon as I can, but I'm a real big procrastinator when it comes to long stories. Oh what the heck, I'll write a little each day. Thanks for your review! ^_^_

**_Kelani2539- _**_I'm gonna somehow weave Quistis' original biography into the plot. But that'll prolly be in later chapters. Thanx for your review though! _

**Disclaimer: _Final Fantasy VIII belongs to Squaresoft._**

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**:: **Balamb******Garden**** ::**

_"No trumpets sound when the important decisions of our life are made. Destiny is made known silently."_

_- Agnes DeMille_

****

"Wow…it's certainly uh…very big." 

            "Yeah…it's beautiful, Dad." 

James Caraway smiled at his two daughters. He knew that Rinoa wasn't a very big fan of the army, or military academies, for that matter, but he didn't mind. _Just like Julia. He thought to himself. Quistis, on the other hand, was the exact opposite. Even though her mother, Catherine, didn't really support the fact of her children joining any military schools either, she accepted the fact that James wanted them…well…at least __one of them, to join the SeeDs organizations that he was always talking to her about. _

"They're wonderful, Cathy." He would say to her. "You should see them train for battles. Magic, weapons—skills, Cathy. These children are going to become heroes someday."

"They're dangerous, James." Catherine always sighed. It always seemed as if talking about this subject pained and annoyed her at the same time. "And I don't want Rinoa or Quistis to get hurt in their "training" and all those field exams that you talk about. They're _girls_, too, for Hyne's sake. What if something happened to them and we're not there to help?"

"They're girls, Cathy—but they're _big _girls now. They can take care of themselves. Besides, only one of them has to join SeeD…I was thinking Quistis, maybe, since she's the older one and seems more interested in this than Rinoa. Wouldn't you like to see one of our children help defend our nation and possibly even go down in history?"

"Well, if helping to defend our nation will cost them their lives, then I really don't." 

"Stop worrying about them, love. They'll be just fine."

"I'm trying to, James. I'm really trying. It's just that…the truth is, besides worrying about their safety and health and everything, I just can't shake off this feeling that something big—something bad will happen if we leave them alone. I'm scared, James. I don't want anything to happen to them or to this family." She would smile sadly at him, face strong yet weak at the same time.

He would then walk over and hug her tightly, while whispering into her hair. "Nothing will, Cathy. Nothing will." 

"So…what do you girls think? Is this the one?" James carried himself away from the memory and turned to Quistis and Rinoa, eyes shining and grinning as usual.

As he had predicted, Quistis was the first to speak up. "It's _really awesome, Dad. I just want to take a look around the inside though to see how their facilities are." James half-smiled at Quistis' contained enthusiasm. He knew that she was dying to go inside the Garden._

"Yeah, well, you know. Whatever. I don't really care." Rinoa stood there, eyes wandering and hands crossed in front of her. "You guys can go on in if you want. I'll just stay out here and wait or something."

James' smile ceased, and a frown formed upon his face. "Are you sure you don't want to come with us, Rinoa? According to what my associates had told me, this Garden has one of the best SeeD forces as well as training facilities in the nation." He felt Quistis perk up in excitement at the statement but he gaze still focused on Rinoa.

Rinoa shrugged, eyes not meeting her father's. "I said I didn't want to go." She started walking back to the car that James that rented in Balamb City.

"You know, you're going to miss out on a lot, Rin." He called to her, his frown stayed on his face as he watched her get into the car and close the door. He then sighed and turned to Quistis, eyes seemingly full of disappointment.

"She's probably just tired from the long train ride, Dad." Quistis had lost her enthusiasm, having viewed the entire scene uncomfortably. "She'll feel better after a while and come in later…" She quickly glanced in the car's direction and noticed that Rinoa was glancing out of the opposite window, head turned and arms still crossed. Quistis slowly walked over to James and pulled on his arm like a little kid. "Come on, Dad. You can be my tour guide."

James smiled, but Quistis could still sense a hint of discontent behind his dark brown eyes. "Alright, Quistis. You lead the way."

"Wow! It looks even bigger from the inside!" Quistis ran up ahead of James and glanced above her, face shining.

"Yes, it does." In truth, James had been here several times already for meetings with other generals before, but had never been able to fully take in the grandness of the Garden. "Today's Saturday, so most of the students are spending their free time in the towns and cities. Over the weekend is the only time tourists or other citizens are allowed to come inside to the Garden."

"Hm. That's reasonable." In the lobby, Quistis' attention was brought to a large, computer-like bulletin board whose legs seemed to have been placed inside metallic posts with ropes hanging from it. Behind it, two wide sets of stairs, separated by a railing, led up to a glass elevator with black trims. The hallway floors were decorated with creamy, red, and blue colored designs that encircled the elevator as well as the lobby corridors. Also, in the middle of the lobby as well as the sides, Quistis noticed bright, green little bushes of plants that were planted in a section of the wall that seemed to jut out from the original. 

"Very comfortable, isn't it?" 

Captivated by the decorations of the Garden, Quistis hadn't noticed both James and another elderly looking man had walked up beside her. "Yes. It seems…very home-like." She glanced at the stranger beside her father, obviously wondering who he was.

James, noticing her questioning gaze, spoke. "This is Balamb Garden's headmaster, Headmaster Cid." He could hear Quistis gasp slightly at the statement and her eyes widened. He gave a tiny grin and turned to the headmaster. "Headmaster Cid, this is my daughter, Quistis. She's looking forward to joining Garden soon."

"That's very wonderful news, General Caraway. And call me Cid, please." He chuckled. "No need for formalities right now." 

James smiled. Quistis could tell that her father like the man. "I will, if you agree to refer to me by James only." 

"Very well, James." Cid turned to Quistis, hands tucked behind his back. "Quistis, would you like me to give you a tour of the Garden?"

"Oh! Um…if it doesn't trouble you…Sir." Quistis said shyly. This man named Cid certainly wasn't very old, but he reminded her of her own grandfather, who passed away a few years ago from a heart attack.

Cid grinned. "Of course. If you will follow me." His turned and walked towards the stairs, but then turned left at a corner into the encircled lobby corridor.  He motioned with his hands towards a dark red and cream-colored walkway that led to an opened portable door that reveal a tiny office, from what Quistis could see. Standing with his side to them now, Cid spoke, "This is the Garden's infirmary. Dr. Kadowaki is the head of this place, and she tends to our students' wounds either from training or from battle. I can guarantee you that she is an excellent doctor. No student walks out of here without being close to healing or otherwise fully healed." He continued onto the next facility. 

Quistis looked around the surroundings. There were few trashcans spread around the area, and mahogany benches were also available. Statues of fishes were carved and placed in the middle of the area. _Wow…clean place. Very *homey. _She pulled her lips down and raised her eyebrows in a look of satisfaction and ran on to catch up with the two other men. 

The pair walked out of the Garden and into the chilly air. The rental car was still there and Rinoa's form could be seen inside, head lolled onto the back pillow of the seat, inevitably sleeping. James stopped and turned to Quistis. 

 "So!" Stopping also, Quistis glanced over at her father, who seemed to beam with light from head to toe. "Quistis. What—" 

As if she had been waiting for this question for years, Quistis interrupted, jumping up and down excitedly. "It was awesome, Dad! I really want to come to this Garden! They have great, clean facilities and the dorms look real comfy! Headmaster Cid was super nice also, and I love that Guardian Force thing that he was talking to us about. This place is terrific, Dad! I really want to come here! It's great! I mean—"Quistis stopped. Blinking and suddenly blushing, she realized that she had been talking nonstop to her father, who stood there with a surprised yet amused look on his face.

James looked at his golden-haired daughter and chuckled. "Uh huh…I see you have quite an interest in attending this school, young lady."

Quistis looked up at her father, a light blush spread across her cheeks. "Y-yeah." She bit her lips. 

"Then what are you looking so worried for?" James grinned and laughed. "If you want to attend Balamb Garden then so be it! I've already talked to Headmaster Cid and he said that he'll be glad to have you come to Garden when the month is over." 

Quistis' face held a look of disbelief as her blue eyes widened. Suddenly, she squealed happily and hugged her father. James' surprised countenance from the sudden display of emotions disappeared as he smiled warmly, also hugging Quistis. "Thank you so much, Daddy!!! I promise to work hard to become a SeeD! I promise!" She released her grip on her father, eyes still dancing with excitement as she bounded back to the rental car. "Wait till I tell Rinoa!" She called loudly back to him. James' smiled joyfully as he stared after Quistis. _I know I'm doing the right thing, Cathy. I know. He took a deep breath and followed her leaping figure. _

Inside the car, Rinoa's eyes slowly opened as a single tear rolled down her pale cheek. 

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**AN2: _So…how was it?! Personally, I don't think it's that bad, but compared to some other author's mine lacks a lot of stuff. (My conscience speaking, "Hm…stuff…like talent?") Make sure to check out my favorite stories section! And you can read at my bio section which of the fanfics is a must-read. YOU MUST READ THEM!!! J/K. Make sure to check them out though! And don't forget to r/r, pleaz! Thank you! ^^''_**

_*Homey-very much like home or closely related that sort of sense_

_Home**ly-ugly, ugly, and ugly (notice the difference : P)**_


	3. Recurring Conversations

**Author's Note: **_Hi, everyone! ^^ I'm really pissed that there's no school today cuz I was supposed to have a field trip today. But that means my math quiz gets delayed till Monday. I'll shut up now._

**_Verdanii- _**_Thanks for your review again! ^_^ I really appreciate it! _

**_Renegade Seraph- _**_^___^ Don't worry, you'll get read about Rinoa lots more in later chapters. I'm not a very big Rinoa fan (although I don't hate her) so I tend to stick to Quistis more cuz I think Quistis has a deeper side to her. Quistis will change as the fanfic progresses, however, but I don't want to give the story away. Thank you! _

**_Alareic-_**_Thank you so much for your kind review! I hope you update your FFVIII novelization soon! _

_Thank you all for your reviews! I really appreciate it! ^^_

**Disclaimer: **_So I was thinking…does a group of people own the Squaresoft company, or does ONE person do cuz they thought of the idea? Hmmm…lots to think about here. _

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**:: Recurring Conversations::  **

_"It is our choices...that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities."_

_                                                            -J.K. Rowling (Our all-time favorite author ^^)_

****

The long month of September, as Quistis had hoped, was over quickly. Over the past few weeks, ever since she had came back from her tour of Balamb Garden, Quistis had been pouring herself through her father's military books again and again to fully understand the concepts and knowledge that was required of a Garden member, particularly a member of SeeD. ****

To her disappointment, however, Quistis was not able to find any sort of material relating to the Guardian Forces that Headmaster Cid had talked to her about. When she asked her father about it, however, he had explained to her:

_"Balamb Garden is the only military academy that uses Guardian Forces, Quistis," He told her, "The other Gardens discourage the uses of GFs because they believe them to be too powerful and dangerous to handle."_

_"Then why does Headmaster Cid allow his students to use the GF?" Quistis had questioned him._

_            James had looked at her gently. "Because," he said, "Cid trusts in his students and believes that they'll put this additional power into good use."_

Her father's words rang in her head all day. This Balamb Garden was certainly very different from all the other Gardens that she had been introduced to. _More…lenient and open. _She thought to herself. Nevertheless, she was glad to have been invited to join Balamb Garden—by the headmaster himself. 

Quistis sat on her bed, crouched over a book that explained to her the best way magic could be junctioned to increase her strength and stamina. There was a lot of information that she had to learn, but she had been prepared for that since the beginning. Never, though, did she realize how complicated most of the junctioning and battle techniques were. 

            When her father had talked about the SeeD trainings and battles that he had seen, he had always made it sound so easy. Normally, Quistis wouldn't have studied over the materials and details as hard, but her inspiration and desire to become a member of SeeD forced her to understand the information in the context fully. 

            Concentrating on the reading, she didn't notice when Rinoa walked in and lied down on her bed, staring at Quistis.

            "Hey."

Quistis looked up, and her eyebrows rose in surprise. "Oh! Hey, Rin. When did you come in?" Her eyes traveled back down to the book and she flipped a page.

Rinoa rolled her eyes as she watched Quistis continue to read. "Oh, um, let's see…I came in just about a second ago, but Ms. Soon-to-be-SeeD over here was too busy pouring over her precious books to notice me." Her voice held obvious sarcasm. 

Quistis sat still for a moment and then slapped her book shut after marking her page. She looked up again at Rinoa, eyebrows furrowed. "Well, I'm _so-rry, _Ms. Caraway." Her head jerked to the side as she snapped back. "You know I'm going to become an official member of Garden after tomorrow, and I want to study hard so I can join SeeD quicker." 

Rinoa watched her step-sister flip onto her bed, back facing her. She pouted. "Well!" She huffed, her voice shaky. "You…you know…you could've _at least_ spent some time with me before you go off to Garden. Instead, you just sit here and cram information into your head without realizing who's gonna miss you when you're gone." Her tears threatened to spill.

Quistis softened and rolled onto her other side, facing Rinoa now, whose mouth was still brought up in a pout. "Rinny," she said, "I'm not going to be _gone. _Besides, haven't we already been through this? I'll only be "gone" for a couple of months but I'll visit you and Mom and Dad frequently…maybe some time over the weekends. But usually I'll need the time to study, you know."

Rinoa sniffed and stuff her face into her pillow. "I know, I know. I don't wanna talk about this anymore. It makes my head hurt." She turned her back to Quistis, bringing her pillow with her.

Sighing, Quistis grabbed her book and trudged out of the room, her mind now jumbled with her and Rinoa's short conversation.

_She ran beneath the trees, the moon silhouetting her lightly-clothed figure. Her breath came in short, quick gasps. Stumbling over the deracinated tree roots, she felt a shiver fly up her spine as a high, womanish laughter flew past her, mocking her. _

_The girl sprinted even faster, pressuring herself forward, ignoring the pain in her legs. _

****

**_Foolish, foolish girl! Running will get you nowhere!_**

_Glancing back towards the darkening trees, a scream wrenched from the girl as she tripped over a rock. Gripping her teeth in pain, the girl now dragged her body as well as her sprained ankle behind her, cursing. _

_Shivers flowed through her body again and again as the high-pitched vibes curled against her skin. _

_I can't die here! After what they did for me…there's no way I'm dying here in this Hyne forsaken who-knows-where!_ _She cried to herself. Laughter rustled through the trees and the girl looked around, heart pumping. _

_Gathering up her courage, she screamed out into the open, "You ungrateful witch! If you've still got the guts to come out, then do so!" She slightly whimpered in pain as the ache in her ankle increased all of a sudden._

**_Stupid girl! If not the Elder, _**_you're **the one who should've known where my intentions truly lied! But you were too blind, girl! Too young and foolish to understand! And now the power rests in my hands!**_

****

_"NO!" The girl cried out, her fists beat the ground. "Everyone was sacrificed to defeat you! You shouldn't deserve to have that power! NO!" Another sharp jolt of pain crawled up her leg, stronger than the previous. She shrieked and clutched her fists in the grass, reluctant to move her leg any longer. _

**_Impudent human! Sacrifices and death are nothing new to me. _**_The wind hissed and howled between the branches. **But as a gift…or rather, as a reminder of me, I shall leave a gift for your people---in you. **_

****

_"Wha--?!" The girl gasped as wind swept over her. Her eyesight suddenly became blurry and the woman's words sounded slurred and distant in her mind._

**_I think you will find this gift rather…interesting, foolish mortal…yes… interesting--- and cursed. _**

****

_A bolt of thunder flashed in the distance as rain started to fall. The girl's head hit the soiled, wet ground as she slipped into darkness, never noticing the small river of blood that slowly flowed towards her cold, still body. _

****

****

**********

**AN: **_One major thing I noticed while I was writing was that I can never get to the point quick enough. I always have to put in this whole little bunch of details that I hate reading in other authors' stories and here I am doing the same thing in my fanfic. *Sigh* I don't feel so good about this chapter. I hope the next one will be better…and more straight to the point. I know you guys hate reading all these little side details, too. I haveta learn not to write too much of them or I'll bore you guys. But keep those reviews coming anyways! Thank you! ^_^_


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